House of Dolls
by ThePurplePeacock
Summary: When a young girl discovers a mysterious dollhouse, the boys soon discover their fates literally lie in the hands of a lonely child.
1. The Dollhouse

**House of Dolls**

Rin sat on the swing, gently kicking herself back and forth with her foot, just enough to sway back and forth. The old rope swing was tied to the largest bough of the only oak tree in the yard and the bough creaked with the movement of the swing, dropping a few orange and yellow leaves. The sound of the creaky limb once bothered Rin for she felt it was the tree's way of expressing its sorrow for being the only tree left on the grounds. Now Rin welcomed the noise, reveling in the fact that she was not the only one feeling so lonely.

"Rin!"

Rin turned to face the house. Auntie was calling her. Rin kicked off the ground a few more times, before Auntie's voice called louder. Dragging her foot in the ground, Rin stopped and called back, knowing her aunt did not like having to yell for her three times.

"Coming, Auntie," the little girl called, then hopped off the rope swing. She dusted off her shoes and pants then straightened her jacket so Auntie would have less to complain about. It's not like she would scold Rin for a dirty hem, but Auntie liked things how she liked them and given the circumstances, Rin did not want to be any more of a burden than she already was. Auntie was here to take care of her; it was the least Rin could do to behave.

Rin set off for the house before Auntie could get impatient, knowing she would have lunch set out by now. She paused once to look back at the tree. The old rope swing swayed listlessly in the wind, as if a phantom Rin were still kicking back and forth. The creaky old bough groaned in the breeze and its dark branches suddenly looked like bony hands reaching out, grasping for something Rin could not see. Before she was aware of it, she had jogged back to the tree, removing a glove to place her bare hand against the rough bark.

"It's okay," she whispered, brown eyes fixed on the swaying branches, "I'll be back."

When she heard Auntie call for a third time, Rin slipped her glove in her pocket and jogged back to the house. When she got to the back porch, Auntie was there, arms crossed, looking stern but not angry.

"Your lunch will get cold, Rin. Come when I call you next time, and you know you shouldn't be running. And where is your glove?" Auntie never missed anything. "You'll catch a cold out in this weather. What were you doing?"

"I'm sorry," Rin panted. The jog from the tree to the porch took longer than she thought. "I was saying bye to the tree."

"Well. Alright," Auntie turned to the house. "Come inside, dear."

Rin followed her aunt, but cast one final look over her shoulder at the old oak tree. With its black branches against the dim grey sky and the slowly molting coat of leaves, she could not help but think the tree looked forlorn. She couldn't blame it. Rin had learned that people do not always come back when they promise they will.

After a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches, Rin found herself running back to her old friend the oak tree. For some reason, she had had a feeling of trepidation fixed in her mind about the tree and that feeling had only grown throughout lunch until she was shoving the last bites of her sandwich in her mouth and washing it down with great gulps of milk just to hurry back to the forlorn tree. When she arrived, she was panting again, and had a belly ache from eating so fast, but she did not care. She just had to get back to the tree simply to prove she would.

Holding the stitch in her side, Rin was doubled over, panting for a few minutes. She had never been a strong athlete. She always preferred making things and creating her own games than playing sports. Even a short jog left her winded. After a couple of minutes she had caught her breath and looked up at the oak. That was when she saw it. It was nestled right up on the gnarled roots of the old tree, standing out against the dark trunk. She had to blink a few times and even rubbed her eyes. She could not be seeing what she thought she was seeing.

It was a doll house. A very large, very pretty doll house. It was almost as tall as she was, styled after old Victorian homes, with a wraparound porch. She was confused, but Rin's heart couldn't help but beat faster in her excitement.

"How did this get here," She asked aloud softly. She had always had a problem with talking to herself. The back was facing the tree, so, removing her gloves and again sticking them in her jacket pocket, she carefully pulled it away from the tree trunk. It was quite a bit lighter than she had thought it would be. When she glanced in the opened-back panels she gasped. There were five rooms in all, each one fully furnished with tiny tables, dressers, beds and anything a young girl could ask for. Everything was dreadfully plain, but in pristine condition. And she had plenty of paints in her bedroom; she could easily give the doll house the colors it deserved.

But wait. It wasn't hers! Was it? She was the only little girl for miles around, she knew. And if it was not meant to be Rin's, why was it here, under her favorite tree? Could Auntie…? No, Auntie was kind, but she would never do something so frivolous. Auntie was pretty strict about what a young girl does and does not need, and big fancy dollhouse did not top the "Need" list.

Though… Auntie had been commenting on Rin's moodiness of late, trying to do anything to keep a smile on the young girl's face. And she had been asking Rin a lot of questions about where she'd been before lunch. Rin smiled, knowing her aunt must have snuck out while Rin was eating to hide her dollhouse under the tree. But… why not give it to her in the house?

Because then it wouldn't be a surprise! Everyone preferred surprise presents over regular ones, the girl justified and allowed a small giggle to escape her lips. It was the first laugh she'd had in a while. Rin decided to take the dollhouse inside and find Auntie and hug her neck and thank her.

The little girl hefted the large doll house, afraid she would not be able to carry it, but Rin found it really was light and easily carried. Her vision was blocked by her cumbersome load, so the going was slow, but eventually she made it to the back porch, and gently set the doll house on the ground. She was panting again and even sweating slightly, so Rin removed her jacket, folded it and stuck it in one of the rooms of the doll house. Her room was on the second floor of the real house and Rin had been planning to run in, surprise her aunt with a hug and ask her to help her take the large toy house up the stairs, but Rin had a sudden nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.

There was no way her aunt could afford this doll house right now, especially with Uncle's hours being cut back where he worked, cousin Hojo in college,and various utility and medical bills. Add the sudden responsibility of an eight year old girl, and the prospect of buying an intricate doll house went out the window. There was a reason they only had soup and sandwiches for lunch. Rin gulped, deciding that no, she would not ask Auntie for help. In fact, she did not want to tell her aunt about the doll house at all.

And so she worked as carefully and as quickly as her eight year old coordination skills let her, taking the stairs on the side of the house instead of the ones indoors. She did not want to risk her aunt finding her with the doll house and get mad and start asking questions in case she had to give it back to…well, to whoever did leave it.

Finally, she was balancing the doll house against her hip and the railing, using one hand to support her burden and the other to twist the doorknob. Once it clicked, she kicked the door with her foot, catching it just in time to prevent a loud bang. She did not want to have gotten this far just to be discovered and her attempts be in vain.

Rin carried the doll house all the way to her bedroom, but she quickly changed her mind and headed for a different door, one that lead to a final set of staircases. She'd always found stairs awkward, carrying a large dollhouse did not help. Ten minutes later, Rin was in a heap on the ground, panting and fanning herself in the loft attic. It was warmer up here, so she stripped off her long sleeved shirt to her t-shirt but left her hat on. She knew her aunt would not come up here since the woman feared spiders like a plague, so Rin's secret would be safe. Plus, she didn't mind spiders, so long as they stayed in their own little webbies.

Rin smiled at her new doll house, excited about her gift and proud at having her first big secret ever. She rushed to her room, gathered her supplies returned to the attic, where she set about customizing her dollhouse.

* * *

The next several days were spent mostly in solitude, as Rin poured her heart into that dollhouse. She would tell Auntie she was going out to play or make an excuse to be upstairs for an extended period of time then run up to the attic, careful not to make too many bangs against the steps and then lock the door behind her. Then she would set about decorating the dollhouse to her heart's desire.

She started with the outside, coating the walls in several layers of paint, mindful of the trimming and painting the tiles individually so as not miss any spots. Then she started on rooms, painting each floor a different color, whatever suited her mood at the time. She cut up pretty scrapbooking paper to use as wall paper, a different design for each set of walls. She then went on to the furniture, being sure to pay attention to each and every detail, even inside the drawers and the small handles. She left no stone unturned, almost obsessed with completing her dollhouse, and while she lost a lot of sleep in the process, in the end it was worth it. After a week, Rin stood back, breathless, splattered with paint and glue, as she admired her own handiwork.

It was perfect!

Well. Almost perfect…

Rin's brow furrowed, unsatisfied with the final product. It was so beautiful, almost gleaming in the sunlight… What was her dollhouse missing then? It was on the tip of her tongue…

Duh! Dolls.

Rin beamed, knowing exactly what her dollhouse needed. Now that it was finished, it needed some people to live in it! And so the little girl hurried to her room where she collected scraps of cloth, yarn, stuffing and anything she deemed worthy of her dollhouse before setting about making her very own dolls.

* * *

"What _is_ it, Jin?"

"Yeah, just tell us already."

"You'll see it when you see it, now quit complaining!"

"It would be nice to know why you're dragging us all through the forest, Jin. It's not exactly _warm_ out here."

"_You _really need to quit whining, Touya, I know you can take the cold!"

"Yeah, well not all of us are immune to having our balls freeze off, so how about you hurry it up, there, big guy."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Touya were trekking through the Dark Forest, following the hovering Wind Master's lead. As stated, they had been walking for a while, attempting to clear away the thick brush of the forest and rubbing their forearms for warmth. It was uncharacteristically cool for so early in Autumn and the ground was already littered with a thick blanket of fallen leaves, only making the going all the more annoying for those who could not just fly through the trees.

The usual crew had been assembled at Genkai's temple, where Jin and Touya had taken up residence. Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara and even Hiei visited often. The guys minus Jin and Hiei, but plus Yukina had been lounging around the common room, watching a moving and drinking hot chocolate. It had been a peaceful, overcast morning. That is, until Jin returned from his mid-day flight around the grounds in a tizzy and sputtering. He was obviously excited about something but was unable to actually describe what he had seen.

"Guys," he had finally managed evenly after a gasp, "You have got to see this!"

"You okay, man?" Yusuke had laughed from his lounge chair.

"See what, Jin," Touya asked, sipping at his hot chocolate, eyes never leaving the TV screen. It was not uncommon for Jin to be excited about things many would find trivial.

"It-it's big! And in the woods! I almost flew right into it, and just barely missed when I swerved but I hit a tree instead." The group had then realized Jin was pulling twigs and leaves from his wild hair. "You gotta see it."

"The tree?" Kuwabara asked.

"No! Augh, just come on!"

The wind demon had then exited in the same manner he had entered, leaving the assembled group to shoot glances at one another, then sigh collectively.

"I guess we should see what has gotten Jin so worked up," Kurama had offered kindly, standing with a stretch.

"Probably a baby bird or… a dead cat," Yusuke muttered off handedly, not wanting to leave his comfy spot.

"Last time it was to show me a cloud that looked like an elephant head," Touya had replied, putting away his mug, "but when I got there, the cloud had moved and changed shape."

"What'd it look like then?" Kuwabara had asked.

"I'll let you use your imagination."

"…Oooh."

And so the boys had followed in the wake of the Wind Master, who was now cutting an erratic path through the woods. The little excursion had already lasted longer than anyone had thought, and both Yusuke and Kuwabara wore short sleeved shorts. And while Jin was right, Touya could tolerate the cold better than anyone else, that didn't mean it did not affect him- plus, he had not put his shoes on and was bare foot and twigs hurt. Kurama just passively followed his companions, naturally curious.

"God, just tell it what it is, Jin," Yusuke eventually exclaimed.

"I don't have to!"

"Why not!"

"We're here!"

Yusuke stepped through a tall shrub and into a clearing, relieved they had made it, but nothing prepared him for what he saw.

"What is it?" Kuwabara was asking as he followed Yusuke's path; he froze in similar awe as Yusuke, soon followed by Kurama and Touya.

"It's…"

"It's…"

"It's…"

Hiei, who had overheard Jin at the temple and had been following silently in the shadows, landed in the clearing and finished what everyone was thinking.

"It's pink."

God it was pink. And big. A massive Victorian style house stood before them, with intricate tiling, and a wraparound porch. The roof was forest green, the walls were bubble gum pink and the trim was done in white. The coloring, true, was stunning, but honestly the question on everyone's mind was soon asked by Yusuke:

"What the hell is this thing doing in the Dark Forest?"

"Told you," Jin exclaimed.

"Definitely not a penis-shaped cloud, but it's still phallic enough," Yusuke said as he scrutinized the structure. "Who paints a house _pink _anyway?"

Kurama, shocked Yusuke knew what 'phallic' meant, shot him a sideways glance, "The color is the only thing that strikes you as odd, Yusuke?"

"Well, no, the friggin' mansion in the middle of the forest is pretty weird."

The six assembled men were silent for a while, staring speechlessly at the blindingly pink house.

"Well," Yusuke broke the silence, marching toward the front porch, "Let's see what's inside!"

"Wait, Yusuke," Kuwabara called out just as Yusuke was about to kick in the door. "You can't go in there!"

Yusuke turned back curiously. "What? Got a tickle feeling or something?"

"No…"

"Then what?

"You have to knock! Someone might live here."

"….right." Yusuke knocked softly three times, waited, then shrugged off Kuwabara's noble intentions, and kicked in the front door, calling loudly, "Honey, I'm hoooome!"

"Dammit, Urameshi!" Kuwabara ran to catch up just as Yusuke barged into the house.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Here we go," Rin said aloud, smiling softly at the toy in her hands, biting off the last bit of thread with her teeth. She had just finished her final doll, made of cloth and yarn. It was a boy with short black hair and brown eyes. The doll was simple and fit in the palm of her hand; she placed him in the first room then picked up the second doll.

This one was a little bigger than the first, but had a curly orange top and was dressed in a little blue suit. She fiddled with his black button eyes before smiling and placing him next to the first doll.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"You can't leave me out," Jin was calling as he swooped down and through the open door. "I'm the one who found this place, aren't I!"

Touya's pupiless blue eyes rolled up to Kuramaas if to say _Why not?_ then the ice master shrugged and calmly followed his red headed friend into the mansion.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Woooosh!" Rin pulled her third doll through the air for a moment before giggling and stroking his red hair, which was made from brushed yarn. She had given him a little white outfit, using some yarn to make straps cross on his chest. She didn't know why, but she felt like he would like flying and let him soar into the dollhouse.

Next was the doll with the light blue eyes. She had drawn netting on his arms. His hair had been difficult, being two colors, but she was finally satisfied with the results and let him join his friends.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Shall we join them, Hiei?"

Kurama had a hint of laughter in his voice as he took in Hiei's horrified expression. The fire demon was dressed in his all-black attire and looked as though he feared the pink would be contagious.

"I'm afraid going near it will make me sick."

"Suit yourself," Kurama answered with a small wave over his shoulder at the smaller man. He turned away to hide his smirk, for as he predicted, by the time his foot hit the bottom step, Hiei had flitted through the door way. Kurama paused to glance up one more time at the pepto-bismal walls, before following his friends into the house.

The door closed with an audible click without anyone touching it.

**O-o-o-o-O**

Rin held a small black clad doll in her hands. He too was boy, even though his outfit kind of looked like a dress, but she liked it anyway. He held a sword she had taken from her Knight and Princess set. Prince Charming wouldn't miss it. She had brushed the doll's hair up in a spiky fashion and embroidered little red slip stitch eyes on his otherwise blank face, but something wasn't right…

"Hmmmm, what are you missing?" She dug around her pile of supplies and eventually produced what she was looking for. A sharpie! She drew a small football shape on the dolls forehead and dotted it in the middle.

"Hmm. Looks weird." And so she tore a strip of white cloth off and tied it around his head, then put him in the doll house.

Last but not least, the final doll had long red hair and bright green eyes. She brushed back his red hair a minute then reached out to place him with the others, but Rin paused, then dug around a box labeled _Polly Pocket _until she produced a tiny flower and stuck it behind his ear. It was funny, this doll looked more like a girl than the last one, but still, Rin knew it was a boy.

"Alright! The gangs all here," Rin mumbled excitedly. "It's time to play!"


	2. The First Room

**The First Room**

Kurama whirled around at the slam of the door, rose in hand.

"Chill out, Kurama," Yusuke said, hands roving along the walls. "Help me find a light switch."

Kurama slowly returned the rose to behind his ear, deciding to aid the others in their search for some light. The room they had entered was pitch black, which was odd; hadn't he seen windows in this room from outside?

The guys fumbled with the walls, trying to find a light switch or even a lamp.

"I think I found somethi-Ooof! Sorry, Hiei…"

"Oh, hey wait…Wait…Wait, no. I got nothin'."

"You don't have to say anything if you haven't found a switch yet."

"How will you know if I find one then!"

"Presumably, a light will come on above your head."

"Oh, right."

"Here we go," Jin's voice announced cheerfully. There was a _click _and the lights came on.

"Ohhhh…..my god."

"What is this place?"

Again the boys found themselves awestruck. They were in an almost perfectly square room. It was so big, there was _no way _it could fit within the house they had seen from outside. The ground stretched on for almost a hundred yards; it was done in typical black and white checker boarding. If you let your eyes rove over it for too long, you got disoriented. You could just barely make out the yellow and orange striped walls in the distance. There was a bright green doorway on the far right wall. They were the only things in the room.

"It must be… some sort of illusion spell," Kurama said, again producing a rose. "Stay on your guard everyone."

He didn't have to tell them. Hiei had drawn his sword, while everyone else had taken a slightly defensive stance. Nothing seemed to happen though. Kurama tried the door, but of course, it was locked.

He sighed. "We're locked in it seems."

"Figures," Yusuke answered gruffly, looking into the distance. "I guess we should head for that other door."

The group nodded and tried not to look at the ground as they went. They had made it halfway without trouble when,

"Ow!"

Yusuke rubbed his head where Kuwabara's arm had struck him. Yusuke growled and struck him back.

"What was that for!"

"For hitting me!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"How do you not mean to!"

But then suddenly everyone was staring at Yusuke as if he were a ghost. "Wha… what?"

"Y-y-y-yusuke, I'm the only one who's supposed to be doing that," Jin said nervously.

"Doing _what? _Oh-ahh!" Yusuke realized he was hovering almost a foot off the ground. Then suddenly his leg lashed out of its own accord, kicking Kuwabara in the head.

"Urameshi!"

"I didn't mean to! It wasn't me!"

And then Kuwabara was in the air, arms flailing and feet kicking against his will alongside Yusuke. The remaining four on the ground could only watch in awed and amused silence as Yusuke and Kuwabara proceeded to beat the hell out of each other, in the air, seemingly against their will. Half the time the boys' movements only looked like punches and kicks, but would miss by well over a foot. The two seemed to jerk back and forth rhythmically as if performing some kind of tribal dance involving kicks and flails.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Pew, pew, pew," Rin was squeaking, pitting the black haired doll and orange haired doll against each other. She had one in each hand, bouncing them back and forth the way children with dolls always tend to do when one doll interacted with another. She made their arms and legs strike out at each other. Why? She was not sure. She just had the feeling these two would fight a lot. Boys like to fight, right? Right.

Rin couldn't help but giggle at her antics. Her head swam a little and the world around her became a little fuzzy, but she was not going to let that stop her from enjoying her dollhouse.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Get me down!" Yusuke was yelling, as Jin tried in vain to pull the boy back to earth. He was not making any progress. Then suddenly, Jin shot several feet up and to the left.

"Don't leave me here," Yusuke yelled as Kuwabara landed on the ground with an "oof." "Hey, why are you free!"

"I'm not doing the flying this time guys!" Jin was upside down in a much more hazardous manner than his usual upside down flying. He then zoomed to the left, then the right, then the left, and back. "I'm…not….doing….this….help!...can't…..move!" He yelled each time he passed over the group below whose heads followed his back and forth movements. Someone was going to get whiplash.

"Hang on, Jin!" Kurama summoned his rose whip and hoped to lasso the wind demon's leg and hopefully put an end to the red blur's ceaseless motion. Kurama's green eyes trained on Jin's movement and made to strike… Only to have his rose baring arm flail up and down wildly, effectively damaging the petals. Oh god. Soon there was a crash as Yusuke tumbled to the floor and Kurama was off, Jin zooming by with a "Hi Kurama! Bye Kurama!"

"Kurama," Touya shouted up at the fox, hurrying to aid a sore Yusuke, "I think whoever's doing this can only control two people at a time."

"It would appear you are right," Kurama answered as Jin made a wild landing and banked roughly several yards away. Touya felt a jerk in his midriff and up he went.

"Hi, Kurama," Touya mumbled dejectedly as he was soon hovering upside down next to a bent over Kurama in the air.

"Hi,Touya."

Touya didn't last long, and was soon plummeting head first for the ground which was several feet below him. Luckily, Jin swooped in just in time to keep the ice demon from cracking like a snow globe against the floor.

"Where were you when we were falling, huh?" Yusuke moped, rubbing a sore hind end.

Hiei had his sword up, glaring at the surrounding area as if expecting an enemy to strike any second, and he was. The phantom villain had taken over Yusuke, Kuwabara, Jin, Kurama, Touya… He was next. Oh no.

Hiei swore something fierce as he was lifted up and hovered several feet away from Kurama, who had been positioned in a similar position. Hiei and Kurama had a second to stare at each other confusedly…. Before being rapidly forced together.

"Auuuughhh!" Both men moaned at their head-on collision, cradling their heads.

They had been pulled apart… but now they were being forced back towards each other, but this time….slowly.

"Oh no…," Kurama bemoaned his fate, predicting what would happen. The others caught on and scrambled to pull the two apart but it of course failed. Hiei looked like he wanted for all the world to slash at Kurama's approaching face but could not control his sword. Their fate seemed to be sealed with the oncoming kiss, as the two were brought within mere inches of each other and then…. They stopped.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Wait," Rin halted in bringing the Kurama and Hiei dolls together in the _now kiss _position, crushing every yaoi fan's dream, "Boys don't kiss!"

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Oh thank god," Kurama sighed and smiled, relieved beyond words. Hiei even chuckled from the happiness he felt that he was _not _going to kiss the only person who could really call his friend.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Oh well! This one kind of looks like a girl anyway!" And Rin mashed the two doll's faces together repeatedly. "Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!"

**O-o-o-o-O**

Hiei was coughing and spitting off to the side while Jin, Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed their asses off. Hiei and Kurama were now free from their binds and Kurama was keeping his distance from Hiei who kept shooting glares his way.

"It's not like I wanted to do it!"Kurama yelled in response to Hiei's accusatory glare.

"Do not talk to me right now, fox."

Yusuke's laughter doubled as he cried, "I don't think you should be calling the man you just made out with a _fox, _Hiei, unless there's something you want to tell us-eep!"

"I would hold your tongue unless you wish to lose it," Hiei growled as he pressed his blade into Yusuke's throat. Spilling blood would only improve his mood; yeah, that was manly.

A loud giggle cut off Yusuke's retort.

The group looked about them; none of the men could have produced that high pitched sound. Finally, six pairs of eyes settled on a little girl. She looked to be seven or eight, and human, with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. For the third time that day the sextuplet were stunned to silence. What was a little human girl doing in a big pink haunted house in the middle of the Dark Forest?

She continued laughing, then said, "You guys are funny!"

Touya recovered first. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to play," the little girl answered with a sweet smile. "What is your name?"

"Um. Touya."

"I'm Rin!"

"Hey that rhymes with my name!" Jin popped in, appearing in front of the girl. "I'm Jin!"

"Hi!" Everyone took turns introducing themselves, but the awkward silence came back.

"So… you came to play? Have you been here before," Kurama asked Rin.

"No…I mean not like this."

"Not like this?"

"I've never been _inside _the dollhouse before." Rin looked around admirably, "Oh, it looks so nice in here doesn't it? I love the walls!"

The boys exchanged confused looks.

Kurama knelt down next to the young girl. "Did you say you haven't been inside…the dollhouse before?"

"Mhm! I spent so long painting and gluing and drawing and oh! Look! The furniture came out so nice!"

"What furniture?"

But even as Rin spoke, chairs and tables were appearing, larger than real life, obviously decorated in types of paper or painted different colors.

"Is she saying we're inside some kind of _dollhouse, _Kurama," Kuwabara whispered hoarsely to the redhead.

"I…I think so. But, I don't see how."

"Ooooh!" Rin was jumping up and down after inspecting a cabinet. "It's so cute! But, hey! I came here to play! Will you play with me?" She turned her big brown eyes on the group of men conversing off to the side.

Kurama faltered but Jin asked, "Whatcha wanna play?"

"Hide and seek! Daddy used to play that with me all the time, but we can't now, so we maybe _we _can!" The girl sounded so excited, no one had the heart to turn her down. "There's plenty of us."

"Okay, we'll play a game of hide and seek," Kurama said kindly. "But, you have to answer some things first."

"Okay!" Rin seemed just as ecstatic about a question game as hide and seek. Maybe she was just excited about company.

"Were you the one controlling us a moment ago?"

The girl looked a little guilty before nodding her head. "I was just playing though," she added quickly.

"I know, but that kind of playing isn't fun for everyone else. Can you still do it? Do you have the power to control us here?"

Rin paused for a moment as if she did not want to answer, but then slowly nodded yes.

"Okay, if we play with you do you promise not to do that anymore?"

"I promise. But you guys can't cheat either!"

Kuwabara swore on his honor as a man he would never stoop to cheating! Everyone else just nodded. Rin was to count first.

"Okay," Kurama was whispering in a quick group huddle. "Let's use this game to find a way out of here."

"How do you think the girl is able to control us, Kurama," Touya asked.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps it's the house."

"I think she's some sort of psychic," Kuwabara whispered. They could hear Rin counting in the distance. _22….23….24….25…_

"I'm not going to play this stupid child's game. I'll find my own way out of here," Hiei grunted, no pretense of keeping his voice down.

"She isn't stupid, she's just lonely," Jin objected, "It can't hurt to play with a lonely little girl for a while."

"Why do you think she's lonely, Jin," Touya asked, though he knew the Wind Master had always been good at reading people. The red head shrugged.

"She said she used to play with her dad, but not anymore. What kind of dad just stops playing with their little girl?"

"Jin's right," Yusuke agreed, eyes narrowed. _48…49…50… _"And you do remember the last time you disobeyed a trick house's rules, right, Hiei? Anyway, something could have happened, like the dad got hurt, or died or something. Could something like that cause a kid to go all psychic, though?"

"It's not unheard of," Kurama answered quickly, as Rin was rapidly approaching the end of the count. _69…70….71… _"Humans can have unknown powers suddenly reveal themselves after times of great stress, sickness, or sorrow. Let's see what we can find out while playing the game. _All _of us," Kurama added the last part with a sideways glance at Hiei. He just grunted but seemed to comply.

They broke apart just as Rin shouted "Ninety eight, ninety nine, one hundred!" and the boys scattered for places to hide.

Yusuke hid behind the curtains, Kuwabara behind the sofa, Kurama and Touya took to the outskirts of the room, scanning for a way out while still trying to remain behind tall furniture, Jin was taking the game to heart and searching for the best hiding spot, and Hiei just stood ever so slightly behind a thin lamp, 'not amused' written all over his face.

Rin's laughter could be heard as she bounced around the play room, searching high and low for her new play mates. She found Yusuke by his toes sticking out.

"Got you," she cheered happily. "Daddy used to always try to hide there too! But I'd always find his shoes!"

"Found you! " Rin giggled at Kuwabara's attempts to crouch his tall body behind the red couch. Kurama and Touya were easily spotted in their half-hearted hiding spots but they put on a show of being 'discovered.' Rin actually walked past the cabinet Jin was hiding in, so the Wind Master leapt out and grabbed the girl who shrieked and giggled as she was lifted onto Jin's shoulders. The girl directed Jin around in search of her last play mate but it didn't take long to find him.

"You're not playing right," Rin pouted as Jin set her on the ground. She was frowning up at Hiei, who just sort of grunted and averted his gaze.

"I hid."

"Did not!"

"I hid, you found me," Hiei sounded bored and a little agitated, probably still irked about the face-rape earlier, "We played your little game now let us leave, girl."

Rin's big brown eyes got wide. "You want to leave?" She turned to face the others.

The boys shifted uncomfortably, exchanging sad glances. No one wanted to crush the little girl's hopes.

"Erm, yes, Rin," Kurama began softly. "We aren't really comfortable where we are. We would like to go home."

"But this is your home!"

A shocked silence; questioning looks.

"We can't live here, Rin," Yusuke started, uncharacteristically soft.

"Why not!" She was starting to get haughty.

"Why not? Because! We're adults! We have jobs and friends and family! You don't want to stay here do you?"

"Yes," Rin whispered. Her eyes had welled with tears. "I like it here. I thought you'd all like it here too…" The girl sniffed.

"What about your friends?"

"I don't have any friends."

"Erm… Your mom and dad will miss you if you stayed here."

"No they won't." Rin's voice had dropped to a whisper but it carried a sad kind of finality, as if she knew beyond doubt her own words were true; this confirmed the guys' fears: something had happened to her dad, but apparently her mom was no longer around either.

Yusuke rubbed his neck awkwardly, shooting Kuwabara a look that said _help me. _The carrot top just shrugged.

"Uhh, we do like it here!" Jin piped in, attempting to cheer the little girl up. He hated seeing people sad, especially cute little kids. "We just can't, uh, stay here, ya know?"

"Why not?"

"Because! None of our stuff is here!"

Rin's face lit up as she gestured to the fully furnished living room. He faltered, then asked,

"Okay, but… what would we eat!"

"Oh," Rin exclaimed, and then…. She disappeared.

"Okay, what the hell! Where did she go?"

"Um… Rin?" Kuwabara called into the air. No reply.

"Is she gone? Just like that?"

"I don't think so. She'll come back."

"What should we do? She seems set on us all staying here," Touya began, "And also on us being her…. _play things._"

"It's like… we're her _toys." _Kuwabara shuddered at the thought.

"She is a child, so whatever powers have surfaced would be child-like, so being a toy to her is not so farfetched."

"This girl, I bet she is projecting this dollhouse of hers," Hiei suggested, taking in the garish room only a child could appreciate. "The girl we see, that's a projection too."

"So, she isn't real," Kuwabara asked for confirmation.

"That's what projection means."

"I was just asking," Kuwabara shot back defensively at Hiei's tone.

"You wouldn't have to ask so many questions if you'd just pay attention to what goes on around you."

"You don't learn anything if you don't ask questions! And I have another one! If this isn't the real Rin, then where _is _the real Rin?"

No one had any idea, but no one had long to ponder the questions: a giant cupcake had just materialized on top of Hiei.

**O-o-o-o-O**

If someone had suggested "a kitchen" they would have correctly guessed where the real Rin was. She had quietly sneaked off to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge, producing an apple, some Swiss cheese, left over garlic bread from last night's supper and a bright blue cupcake from the batch Auntie had made last week. She smiled gleefully to herself, sure her friends would like some of these things.

She quickly hurried back to the dollhouse and reached out to place the cupcake on the little yellow table, but paused as she noticed a bit of icing was on her finger. She reflexively jerked to bring her hand to her mouth and oops! Dropped the cupcake! On the spikey haired doll.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"Geff thiff obba be!" Or something like that could be heard from under the cupcake as Hiei struggled against the giant pastry. Around them appeared more giant food: holy cheese, a shiny apple, and a brick of bread that quickly filled the room with the pungent odor of garlic. The boys managed to haul the large cupcake off the small demon who had struggled so much that bits of yellow cake bits dotted his hair. He was fuming as he swiped at the sticky bits of cake.

"That's it," Hiei spat, "I'm sick of these games, and I'm sick of this place. I'm finding a way out and I'm getting the hell out of this pink hell!"

"No!" Rin suddenly reappeared beside the cupcake smattered Hiei; Yusuke stepped forward to quickly pull her out of range of Hiei's blade. "You can't go," she was still objecting.

"And why not? You have no right to keep us trapped here," Hiei replied.

"You aren't trapped," Rin argued, then turned her gaze on all six men, "Why don't you want to stay here with me? There's food, there's space and furniture and we can all play together!" Her small voice was rising in anger.

"We just don't think we could live here, Rin. It isn't real. It's not our home," Kuwabara tried to soothe the girl, but hot tears were streaming down her face now.

"It is too real! _This _is your home. I made it for you!"

"Enough of this." Hiei turned to go."If you won't tell us how to leave, I'll just blast my own way out."

"No!" She actually stomped her foot. The walls shook.

"What?" Hiei turned to fix his narrowed crimson stare on the girl. He wasn't used to little humans ordering him around.

"You won't leave!" Rin was yelling and crying now. There was a soft _drip…drip…drip_ in the distance. "You said you'd stay and play, but you didn't even play right! You said no cheating but you cheated! I won't let any of you go! You're _my _toys!"

As the girl's wrath grew, something strange began happening in the striped room. The floor began to rumble, and the sound of trickling water grew into a stream, into a rush, until water was pouring in from all walls, quickly pooling at their feet and across the floor. The boys looked around seeing that Rin had vanished again, but they could still hear her angered sobs all around them.

"The room is flooding," Yusuke cried out as the water level quickly rose to cover his ankles. The surrounding furniture began to float, while the stinky bread and large cupcake began to crumble. It was like a dam had broken and roaring water rushed and white capped around them. In a room that was quickly filling with water that had no exit, the six men were beginning to panic. Despite their strength, skill, and energy levels they would all be dead after several minutes submerged in the salty water.

"Rin!" Jin called out, hovering above the rising water. "Can you hear me!"

More sobbing. If she could hear, she made no attempt to answer except allow the water to flood even faster. It was chest high now for Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara, while Hiei and Touya had to swim to keep above the rushing water. Soon they were all clinging to flimsy wooden furniture to stay afloat.

"You can't go! You can't you can't you can't!"

"Rin! Answer us," Kurama called above the roar of water, clinging to a wooden barrel. His hair was soaking wet and stuck to his face and back.

"You're my toys, _mine, _you can't go, you're supposed to stay and play with me! You're supposed to stay! You can't go!"

She sounded heartbreakingly tragic; Kurama wondered what possibly could have happened to cause such desperation in such a young voice.

"If you let us go, Rin, we'll come back and play whenever you like," Jin was out of air space and submerged with his companions; still, he tried reasoning with the girl, but this only caused her to wail even louder.

"That's what he said," she sobbed. "But, he _didn't_, he didn't come back!"

"Who did, Rin?" The water was a foot from the ceiling now; the boys clung to the ceiling, trying not to be swept away by the tide.

"Daddy!" The whole house seemed to shake with Rin's cries. There was just enough room left for one last breath.

"Okay," Yusuke cried out, "We'll stay! We won't leave you, Rin!" He took his last breath of air and plunged under water as the water met the ceiling.

The world had taken on a ghostly blue-grey tint under the water. Furniture and bits of food were floating past. Jin's and Kurama's long hair flowed out like halos about their heads. It seemed like the end was near as everyone's lungs began burning for air. There was no where they could go. But then, the sound of rushing water slowly died away, and there was a soft _click. _The second door! They all had forgotten about it during after Rin appeared. The door swung open and suddenly they were swept away by an all new tide, like soap bubbles going down the drain after a bath, unable to fight the current, and soon they were coughing, wheezing and gasping for air in an all new room.


	3. The Second Room

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and enjoyed this story so far! This should be wrapped up in six chapters, so if you're also following my other story Dusk and Dawn, I'll start updating it as soon as this one is finished. If you aren't following Dusk and Dawn... Why not! Go read it :) This is a short chapter, but the rest should be a bit longer.

I can't believe I was originally going to try to make this story a one shot!

Please review!

**The Second Room**

The boys lay there a moment, coughing up water and gasping for air. Any water that had rushed in with them seemed to trickle away and disappear until there were only a few puddles around them.

"Everybody all right?" Yusuke asked, pulling handfuls of sticky mush he could only assume were bits of cupcake from his head and body. His once-gelled hair hung limp and dripped onto his shoulders. Everyone nodded or answered more or less "yes" pushing themselves into sitting positions.

"Damn, Touya, looks like you need a haircut," Jin called out to the Ice Master; Touya suffered a similar fate as Yusuke, his usually slicked back hair now clinging to his face and neck. He gave a short laugh and, running a hand through his longish hair, replied, "I could say the same about you."

They were in a room similar to the first; the floor was blue with yellow polka dots while the walls seemed to be a decoupage of images cut out from magazines; celebrities and teen models grinned down at them with unnatural smiles. There was no second door in this room, though there was a ladder at the far corner that led up into a square opening. Rin was not present, but they knew she could hear them. They could feel her presence more than before; it was oppressing.

"Rin," Kurama called out, knowing they weren't alone. They could hear the girl's quickened breath, as if she were some omnipresent god. "Are you alright?"

The walls spoke for her. "You want to leave," she accused, all traces of tears gone. She sounded flat out mad now.

"We want to know you're not hurt, Rin," the fox tried again, hoping to soothe the girl before anything drastic could happen again. It was obvious the house responded to her emotions as well as her actions.

"What do you care!" Her voice was bitter beyond it's years. "You all hate me."

"We don't hate you, Rin, we just don't want to be your _dolls," _Kuwabara tried to explain but she was not listening.

"Liar! You hate me! You can't stand to be around me so you want to _leave me _just like he did!"

"Are you talking about your father, Rin," Yusuke called but he did not get an answer. "I know what it's like not to have a dad be there for you," he continued, hoping he could make her sympathize with him. "Mine never was; it sucks but you'll be okay. Look at me! You don't need to trick people into being your friends."

"Daddy was always there before!" Rin yelled defensively. "And I'm not tricking anyone to be my friend! You're my toys and you're supposed to play with me!"

Yusuke was getting frustrated. "Dammit, we don't want to play with you! Your idea of playing sucks!"

Kurama winced at Yusuke's words but Hiei smirked, agreeing with the ex-Spirit Detective. It was made apparent in the next few moments that Yusuke really should have watched his tongue: the walls were beginning to move.

The edges of the room began to shift and morph. Rin's anger seemed to swell until it was a dark, tangible power that crackled as the paper figures Mod-Podged to the walls were beginning to move on their own. The boys formed a circle, backs facing each other so they could keep an eye on the walls, unsure of what was going to happen.

"You don't want to play with me. Then I'll give you someone _else_ to play with!"

The guys balked at the change in Rin's voice; she no longer sounded like an angry, hurt little girl. True, while her voice was still there, there was a deeper, more demonic voice speaking alongside it, full of malice.

"Something tells me our assumption about Rin being a psychic was a little off," Yusuke murmured to his friends as he watched the walls bulge and bend. Off in the darkness, there was a peal of creepy laughter that was taken up by more and more of the shape-shifting paper figures.

"I can sense a faint hint of demon energy," Touya supplied, watching the walls with narrow eyes. The first of the shifting figures began to step away from the walls and toward the gathered team of humans and demons.

"Someone's gotta be behind all this! No little kid would do this to people!" Kuwabara was angry now, but he was more freaked out by the approaching paper figures; each one had an other-worldly grin plastered to its face. The eerie laughter was becoming stifling. They moved with jerky motions, arms out.

"Whoever it is sure is an idiot then! There's no way a bunch of paper can take us down," Yusuke shouted with a grin. He raised his hands and shot into the approaching crowd of paper minions with a cry of "Spirit Gun!" A hole was blasted through the paper men…. But they just morphed themselves back together, healed.

"Hm… Shoulda seen that coming," Yusuked shrugged. No matter what you threw at them, the paper people were not daunted and continued their swarm, eerie grins plastered to their faces. The first one reached Kuwabara and a paper arm quickly lashed out, wrapping itself around the man's arm.

"Auuugggh!" The paper person somehow sapped his energy, painfully. There was no use trying to ward them off, so the group decided to scatter, running through the growing crowd of possessed paper puppets.

"Yusuke! That voice," Kurama shouted to Yusuke as they ran.

"I know, Kurama. It sounded familiar, didn't it?"

Despite no longer being a Spirit Detective, Yusuke was occasionally roped into dealing with some minor threat in the Human World. He had the feeling he'd encountered that voice in the last year or so, but he could not place who it was.

"Where did you get the dollhouse, Rin!" Yusuke shouted into the air, knocking back the paper men that tried to wrap themselves around his torso.

"I didn't steal it!" Rin's voice was her own again, and sounding defensive. "I found it!"

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged a nod; there was no telling who could have placed a fake dollhouse in the girl's midst but they knew whoever had done it must have intended it to be a trap for them. Sadly, they'd walked right into that trap, literally.

"What did you mean when you said your dad was always there before?" Touya asked, attempting to freeze the paper men in their tracks. Their attackers seemed to pause when Rin was distracted, so the plan was to keep her talking.

Rin sniffed. "He died," she admittedly sadly. "Earlier this year."

"What happened?"

"Car wreck…"

The paper men had stopped moving completely, but now they began to shift again; the boys went on the defensive, but they did not need to. The paper creatures were coming together to form a series of images that flashed by: a woman crying, an empty hospital bed, an obviously distraught man, the wreckage of a car that had careened into the side of a bridge. The boys winced, knowing they were seeing Rin's memories. When the images faded away, Rin was once again standing among them.

"The woman… she was your mother?"

Rin nodded at Kurama's question.

"Where is she now?"  
"She died a long time ago," Rin whispered. "She was sick."

They all recalled the glimpse of the hospital bed. Rin had apparently had to suffer a lot in her short life.

"I'm sorry, Rin," Kuwabara started, but Rin's head snapped up, anger returning.

"No! Don't say that! I'm sick of people feeling sorry for me!"

"I-er,sorry-I mean," Kuwabara stammered, unsure how to apologize for apologizing. "I didn't mean…"

"That's all people do now! They look at me, but they don't see _me _anymore! They just see some sorry little kid to be pitied."

"We don't pity you, Rin-"

"Yes, you do!" Rin was yelling again. "You all do! No one thinks I can do anything by myself anymore!"

The dark power they had sensed earlier was growing with Rin's rage; the room darkened and the paper creatures started moving again, their eerie laughter once again filling the room. The aura around Rin was darkening, and an unnatural spindly shadow appeared around her. The shadow appeared to have several arms and legs; this had to be the true master of the dollhouse.

"Rin! Look out!" Yusuke was fighting his way through the sea of creatures, but they continued to darken and shift until they were no longer recognizable as magazine cutouts, now something far more demonic. Two of the arms of the shadow creature wrapped possessively around Rin's small body and then she disappeared, leaving the group alone with the horde of power-sapping monsters.

**O-o-o-o-O**

Rin's head swam and her eyes fluttered. She was sure she was in the attic still, but it was like she was living in a dream world. The area surrounding her and the dollhouse was dark and fuzzy. She caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye. Spiders. Lots of spiders. They were crawling out of their hiding spots, surrounding the dollhouse and making new webs all around her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rin felt like this should bother her, but it didn't. Her head felt like cotton and she could not quite react right.

As the spiders continued swarming in, the dark shadow reappeared behind Rin, a tall creature with four arms and four legs. A grin split its dark face and it spoke with a voice like a hiss.

"Rinnn," It whispered, almost sing-songly, "Theyyy don't like you."

The creature placed two of its hands on Rin's tiny shoulders. She shuddered but remained silent, eyes focused on the doll house.

"They're bad dollsss. Bad friendsss. You should just get rid of them," The shadow leaned in whisper in the girl's ear. After a moment, Rin shooker her head no.

"_No?" _The voice sounded shocked.

"I…I like them. I don't want to get rid of them. They're my friends," Rin whispered timidly.

"Fine," snapped the voice of the shadow. "Then we'll just give them some more _friends _to play with."

A large black spider began its slow descent from its intricately spun web, and then climbed up and inside the dollhouse. Soon, more and more spiders were leaving their webs and following the leader into the bright pink doll house. Rin frowned, and the shadow laughed.

**O-o-o-o-O**

"I don't know how much more of this I can take!" Kuwabara yelled as he hacked through one after another of the creepy paper demons. They were everywhere, corralling the men together. This dollhouse really had it out for them.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting out of here!" Yusuke announced, then, breaking through the swarm of creatures, made a dash for the ladder to the next room.

"Yusuke, wait!" Kurama called after him. "We don't know what's in the next room! Surely, it's trapped similarly to this one."

"Well, we aren't faring too well here, are we, Kurama!' Yusuke, head strong as ever, was already on the third rung of the ladder.

Kurama sighed, knowing Yusuke was right. He used his whip to break a path through the creatures and they all made a break for the ladder. One by one, they followed Yusuke into the black depths of the unknown room above them. Hiei paused halfway up the ladder, inspecting his hand; a thin, sticky film seemed to stick to it.

"Move it, shorty! We don't want to be here all day," Kuwabara called up to the fire demon. Hiei just grunted, wiped his hand on his cloak and continued climbing, soon followed by Kuwabara and Kurama. Touya had paused at the bottom of the ladder, but Jin quickly pushed him up it.

"C'mon, what could be worse than creepy, smiling, paper thingies," Jin asked as he ascended the ladder into the next room.

They quickly discovered what could be worse


	4. The Third Room

Author's Note: I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with this chapter, but it's late and I needed to update. It would have been posted sooner, but I got distracted by images of Touya on Tumblr. x.x (Yes, he is my favorite!) Anyway, thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! It should be wrapped up in two chapters, so keep an eye out! I'm excited about writing the next chapter. Li'l hint: You get to see inside the heads of some of the gang! Whoo!

Also, someone pointed out 'Rin' and 'Hojo' being in Inuyasha... Completely unintentional! I must have subconsciously tapped into my supply of Japanese names I'd heard in anime!

Read, review, enjoy!

Edit: I accidentally have been writing that spiders have six legs. Derp. They have eight. Let me know if you catch it anywhere in the text.

**The Third Room**

The ladder led them to a dimly lit room; the boys climbed out and caught their breaths, taking in the new surroundings. It was hard to make out anything in the shadows but they were sure this room sported a similar color scheme as the rest of the house. By now they suspected the room to be booby trapped and were on guard, in case the floorboards decided to rip themselves up and beat the assembled men senseless.

"Ten bucks says the furniture goes all _Beauty and the Beast _and tries to beat the crap out of us," Yusuke announced with a stretch.

"What?" Kuwabara asked incredulously.

"Well, why not! Everything in this house seems bent on killing us! Possessed furniture has got to be next on the list."

"Except, we're in a room with no furniture," Hiei grumbled distractedly; he was wiping his hand on his cloak.

"What are you doing Hiei?" Kurama was curious. Hiei just lifted his hand, peeling off some sort of clear film. It looked like…

"A web?"

"Hn. It was on the ladder…"

In fact, upon closer inspection, almost everyone seemed to have some sort of webbing clinging to them. Kurama pulled a web from his hair, Jin had it on his ears, Kuwabara was flailing and shouting "Ew! Ew! Ew!" as he pulled sticky strings from his head.

"What is this stuff!" Kuwabara continued to holler; he was easily creeped out, especially in a demonic haunted dollhouse.

"Spider webs," Touya answered simply, prying the gook from his arm. It seemed the more the boys moved about the room, the more webs they acquired.

"Auuugh, I hate spiders," Kuwabara groaned, shifting about nervously for any signs of the creepy crawlies. Jin floated by listlessly, accidently brushing Kuwabara's shoulder and sent the carrot top into spasms, thinking he was under arachnid attack.

"Would you stop thrashing about, you idiot, you're making a racket." Hiei as always was the first to criticize Kuwabara. Kuwabara stopped flailing for spiders and turned his brown eyed glare at the small demon.

"Yeah, leave it up to Hiei to act all high and mighty! I know you're probably just as freaked out by those things as everyone else! Everybody hates spiders, so just admit it!"

"I'll admit no such thing, for I fear no such thing or anything for that matter," the small fire-demon declared, "but as I told you earlier, you don't pay enough attention to your surroundings so _shut up."_

Kuwabara opened his mouth for a rebuttal but Kurama held up a hand for silence and Kuwabara realized what Hiei had been talking about. True, the room was devoid of furniture, but they suddenly realized they were not alone for there was a soft _clicking _all around them. The dim light allowed them to see the area immediately surrounding them, but whatever lied in shadow was a mystery.

"Okay," Kuwabara whispered hoarsely, "so we're in a creepy room full of creepy spider webs and something that makes creepy noises."

"Say 'creepy' again."

"_Creepy_! I say we try to get to the next room as soon as possible before that 'something' realizes we're here."

"Kuwabara has a point," Kurama said, voice dropping to a whisper. "I do not think our little Rin is doing all of this all on her own; I think a demon or evil spirit is affecting her, badly. We need to find a way to help the girl and get rid of the true enemy here."

"Do you think she is being possessed then, Kurama?" Touya had followed suit in whispering, unsure if they could still be heard by Rin and her dark shadow.

"I'm not sure, but definitely something along those lines is going on. We will need to find a way to find the real Rin if we are to help her."

"She probably doesn't realize what's she really doing," whispered Yusuke.

"Perhaps not," Kurama answered, "but that could make her even more of a threat to us. How often have you seen mangled toys as the result of a child's tantrum?"

Everyone grimaced; after experiencing the control the girl held over them, no one wanted to give Rin any reason to rip their heads off. Or force them to play tonsil hockey with their team mates.

"So the plan is to locate the real Rin without pissing her off again, then take out the guy who's behind all this mess," Yusuke whispered.

"That shouldn't be too hard!" Jin practically shouted, having never been good at whispering. Several hands were clapped over the Wind Master's mouth as the room was filled with the sounds of scuttling, clicking and even hissing at the outburst. Kuwabara felt a chill run up his spine.

"Let's try to move on to another room while nothing's trying to attack us. The head-honcho's gotta be here somewhere if he has so much control over this place," Yusuke began once all the clicking and scuttling calmed down. "Maybe we'll find the real Rin with him."

"Yusuke is right. We should try to find out more about this unknown demon or spirit. Hiei," Kurama turned to the broody little demon, "do you think you can give us some light to see by?"

Hiei answered with his typical "Hn" but made to lift his arm. With a slight flare of his energy, there was a _whoosh _and his hand was engulfed in flames, illuminating the surrounding area and all its inhabitant.

"Oh….my…god," Kuwabara summed it up pretty well.

Spiders. Spiders everywhere. Massive things the size of large dogs or small ponies with long legs that clung to the floors, walls and ceiling along with their webs. Each spider's set of six tennis ball sized eyes gleamed in the fire light, each facing the group of now speechless men. Their pincers clacked in irritation at the sudden light, explaining the _clicking _noise. Across the sea of spiders, there was a blue door.

"Hiei…," Kurama said softly and calmly after a moment of silence. "Put out the light."

And so he did. Kuwabara was emitting a nervous, high pitched squeak as he tried not scream, but he was not the only one affected by the appearance of their eight-legged friends. Yusuke and Jin were mouthing soundlessly, gesturing in horror of the army of spiders. Hiei stood agape at the massive arachnids, Kurama went pale, and even Touya shivered. Apparently, Kuwabara had been right: No one liked spiders.

"Okay," Yusuke gasped, warding off a panic attack. "I say screw this room, let's take on the paper freaks again!"

Kurama caught the Mazoku by the collar as he headed for the ladder. "We must press forward, Yusuke. No matter how… _unpleasant _that direction may be."

"But…. Spiders, Kurama! _Spiders! _Big, ugly hairy, spiders!"

"They don't seem to be too hostile, so long as it remains dark," Touya said, trying to keep level head despite sensing the creepy crawlies all around them. "We may be able to press forward, so long as we avoid the webs."

Jin's nervous laughter was back. "Push through a bunch of ginormous spiders in the dark? And here I thought _I _was the crazy one, Touya! I think I'm with Urameshi on this one!"

"You've never been scared of spiders before, Jin…"

"Yeah! Before they weren't big enough to have me for dinner! I usually just squish the little bastards and these bastards do _not_ look squishable!"

Touya sighed, but Jin was right, these spiders were not to be taken lightly. With fangs the size of your forearm, there was no telling what kind of damage they could do. The boys took a few minutes to come up with a better plan, but they simply could not think of one.

Kuwabara rose suddenly, bracing himself for his announcement. "Looks like we only have one option, and that's to go _through the spiders_! I'm not going to let some stupid insect get the best of me! Men aren't afraid of little bugs!" The brash carrot top turned abruptly as if to make a dash through the spider-barricade but stopped dead just before plowing into a sad faced Rin. Kuwabara once again made a high-pitched squeal, effectively ruining his bravado.

"Hi…," the girl began sheepishly. There were dark circles under her big brown eyes; she looked tired. "Please, don't be mad!"

"We're not mad, Rin," Kurama began before someone like Yusuke could speak up and scare the girl off. "But we need your help."

"My help?"

"We know you want us to stay here with you, but we think you may be in danger."

"I'm not in any danger," Rin objected, but something seemed to flit across her face that made Kurama think she knew better than what she said.

"Even so, it would be best if we could all get out of this dollhouse. You're the only one that can do that. If you don't let us out soon, then I'm afraid it will be too late to help you."

Rin was silent a while, mulling over what Kurama had said.

"We _can _help you Rin," Kurama added softly.

Rin's face darkened. "No. You can't," she said with the finality she had about her parent's being unable to miss her.

"Of course we can," Yusuke jumped in, "It's what we do! We've handled worse crap than this before. You can trust us. Whatever's going on, we can help."

The little girl shook her head again, tears welling in her eyes. "You can try, but you won't be able to help..." She trailed off, head cocked to the side as if listening to something none of them could hear. After a moment, her eyes jumped into focus and she gasped.

"Oh no. Auntie's coming! I have to go!"

"No, Rin, don't leave-"

Too late. She was gone.

* * *

The sound of Auntie coming up the stairs was enough to snap Rin out of her reverie. The misty shadow world that had begun to envelope her faded away as the real world came into focus. Auntie was at the locked door, jiggling the handle.

"Rin?" She sounded worried. "Are you in there, dear?"

Reflexively, Rin ran to let the woman in but the girl quickly back pedaled.

_Oh god, the dollhouse! _She had to come up with a way to hide it quickly. There was no way she could explain the elaborate doll house to her aunt especially after hiding it for over a week.

"One second!"

She quickly scoped out the room and discovered a dingy old blanket in the corner. Rin hurredly yanked the dusty thing down and made to push the dollhouse out of sight, then covered it with the blanket.

"Open up, Rin! What have you been doing up here all day!"

"Uhhh…" Rin couldn't think of a good answer, besides, the blanket only covered about half of the dollhouse and she was near panicking. Rin gulped.

"Sorry, boys," she whispered then, carefully, she tipped the dollhouse onto its side. Despite being careful, she lost her grip halfway down and the dollhouse slipped, hitting the floor with a bang.

"Are you okay!" Her aunt was calling, almost frantic now. She was a bit of a worry wart.

"Coming!" Rin yelled, tossing the old blanket over the sideways dollhouse, dust clouds rising on contact. She quickly unlocked and opened the door, breathless already. She was greeted by her aunt's worried frown.

"Have you been in here all day, Rin? You know I don't like you playing in the attic, it's so dusty, you know it's bad for your lungs. What have you been doing in here all day?"

"Cleaning," Rin yelped, nerves causing her voice to rise two octaves. "I mean, um, cleaning," she tried again. "I know you don't like coming up here, and, uh, I thought that maybe I could clean it up for you, and um, you'd like it more?"

Rin was lying through her teeth, but her aunt smiled down at the little girl, unsuspecting.

"That's sweet, honey," Her aunt's smile fell as she cupped Rin's face, "but you look so tired, I think you're pushing yourself too hard. I can handle a messy attic, why not go clean up and take a nap?"

"No!" Rin's voice pitched again and she took a moment to control it. "No, I want to finish what I started, like you're always telling me and Hojo."

Rin beamed at her aunt like the cat that ate the canary.

"Well, alright," Auntie began and Rin sighed inwardly with relief, "but I still want you to clean yourself up and at least come have a snack." Rin's breath hitched. She knew there was no arguing with her aunt's tone.

"Alright," the girl agreed nervously. She was hoping her aunt would leave then, but the woman hovered until Rin begrudgingly followed her down the stairs. Rin cast a furtive look over her shoulder before disappearing down the stairs.

* * *

"WAAAAAAAUUUGHHHH!"

Needless to say, the gang was in a state of panic. Their whole world had been both literally and figuratively turned upside down. Not only had they been knocked off their feet and sent skidding down a ninety-degree slope, the little light they had had was distinguished and clouds of smoke filled the air. So they were blind, choking, and sent head long down a slope full of massive spiders that scrabbled and clicked in agitation. Jin had the advantage of flight, but even that was hindered by the arachnids' bodies and sticky webs.

In the end, all six fighters found themselves in a heap on the floor (well, _wall) _covered in spider webs and desperately lashing out at the equally agitated spiders.

Hiei summoned some more fire for light, seeing as the spiders were beyond angry now. Yusuke had to sock one in the face to get the eight-legged beast off of him. There was a cry as Touya was pinned under one of the furious creatures; the spider's massive pincers clacked in the youkai's face and was only held at bay by Touya's feet, pressed against the spider's sternum. Jin swooped in and quickly Tornado-fisted the spider into submission…. But this only further enraged the skittering clicking arachnids. As one great hissing body, they turned and began swarming the haggard boys.

"Auuuugh!" Yusuke yelled in frustration, taking out spider after spider with just his fists. "Why is it _always_ _SPIDERS_!"

Yelling definitely did not do anything to soothe the raging beasts Yusuke realized as their hissing and cries filled the room. Yusuke feared he would have to take them all on and began firing up his Shot Gun, when suddenly the sea of spiders parted. Mistaking this as a retreat, Yusuke let out a whoop of laughter. He soon found out just what they parted for.

Have you ever stared down a gigantic black widow as it descended above your head, with fangs that dripped an unearthly acid that burned the ground at your feet?

It was not pleasant to say the least, but Yusuke glared it down as he would any opponent in a fighting match. This was no normal spider, for it had a radiating purple aura and eyes as red as the hourglass on its back. Its aura was similar to that of the shadow they'd seen leech onto Rin before and Yusuke knew they were facing the demon responsible for this whole ordeal, or its spirit at least. Yusuke had the suspicious this spider was as much a vessel to the vile spirit as Rin had been.

"Alright, so you finally decide to show yourself," Yusuke grinned, thinking he was finally going to face down the demon who had lured them here.

"Yusuke Uramesssshi," the demonic spider hissed almost gleefully. "I had hoped we would meet again, and now it seems I will get my wish."

Yusuke's brow knit together in confusion; he turned to Kurama and shrugged.

"Do you recognize this guy?"

"This body, no, but the voice and aura are distinctly familiar. I feel we have fought this demon before. My assumptions were correct."

Yusuke smirked at Kurama's ability to shamelessly pat himself on the back and turned to the black widow.

"I gotta admit, this is the weirdest rematch I've ever been in," Yusuke called to the ebony spider. Hiei shifted beside him, ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice; he wasn't one to waste time talking like Yusuke.

The spider laughed, or clicked in a spider's equivalent to laughter. "Foolish as always, Yusuke. This is no rematch; this is payback for _humiliating _me before."

"Errr, yeah… Not ringing any bells."

The possessed spider hissed with fury, its aura quickly darkening. "How dare you forget about me, Yusuke Urameshi. I'll be sure you never make that mistake again!"

And then the spider proceeded to hock a purple acidic loogie at Yusuke's face. The group scattered just in time for the ground to be splattered with searing goo that hissed upon contact with the wood. The goo was followed by a lunge from the massive black widow, continuously hissing and spitting. The other spiders seemed to follow the black widow's silent commands and attacked the rest of the group while their demonic leader took on Yusuke alone.

With the dollhouse upside down, there was less room to run on the wall than the actual floor (which was now their wall).

Luckily this problem was soon righted- Just as the bubbling, hissing maw of the spider was preparing to send another glob at Yusuke's face point-blank, the whole house tumbled back into its rightful position.

"Waaaaaauuuuggghhh!"

* * *

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…," Rin was muttering to herself as she hefted the large dollhouse. Little spiders were pouring out of one of the upper rooms. She swatted at them helplessly, doing little to put a dent in their numbers.

Rin had quickly doused her face and hands in the downstairs sink, then scarfed down a midday snack of milk and cookies only to appease her aunt. The woman had again tried to convince Rin to leave the attic alone but Rin had insisted, so then her aunt had given her a bucket of cleaning supplies and broom to help her "clean the attic." Rin had abandoned these things at the door, but now she fetched the broom and attempted to swat at the arachnids but this only seemed to anger them further.

Rin quickly gave up on the broom and sifted through the contents of the bucket until she found what she sought: Pesticide.

Wrapping a hand over her nose and mouth, Rin began spraying into the doll house without properly thinking her plan through, coating her dolls as much as the spiders with the spray.

* * *

Noxious fumes were quickly filling the room, further muddling the minds of the disoriented boys. After once again being toppled over, all six of the boys had been separated amongst the mass of spiders. Luckily, the fumes seemed to be killing off the giant spiders. Unluckily, the fumes had a similar effect of the humans and demons.

Kurama covered his mouth and nose with the crook of his elbow, eyes stinging in the hazardous chemicals. They had traded one evil for another. The fox could make out the figure of Yusuke in the distance; many of the webs had caught fire in the tumult and illuminated parts of the room.

"Yusuke!"

Yusuke glanced up but his attention was quickly reverted to the black widow at his heels. The demonic spider did not curl up and die like its minions, but was definitely suffering under the bug spray. It's massive orb of a body swayed left and right, over balancing on its spindly legs, causing it to list heavily left or right, and finally fall heavily on its side, legs flailing helplessly.

Yusuke walked up and stomped the arachnid's head savagely, but the thing continued to squirm.

"Kurama," Yusuke choked over the fumes, "How do I kill this thing?"

"A spiders heart lies in its upper-abdomen."

"Where?"

But Yusuke was spared a spider anatomy lesson as Hiei swooped in and pierced the black beast's heart with his sword. The spider gave a hiss of pain before all its legs curled up in on itself.

"Is that it?" Yusuke's voice was muffled by the t-shirt he had lifted to cover his face. He was answered shortly as a deep purple aura lifted from around the dead spider and slithered across the floor, vanishing in the darkness. "Damn it!" Yusuke swore, knowing their foe had survived.

"No time to fret about it now, Yusuke. If we don't do something soon, we will all suffocate in this poisonous environment. We must locate the others and find a way out of here."

It was not long before the group had regrouped but by then they were all coughing and swooning in the pesticide. Before anyone could formulate a plan, Rin's panicked shriek broke into their thoughts.

* * *

Rin had found herself in the misty, dream world again, a place she discovered she did not like to be. It was all shadows and darkness here. She could not see him, but she knew _he _had returned. He spoke in her head rather than aloud, but she knew him to be real.

"You foolish girl!" He was furious with Rin. "You'll pay for what you did!"

"No! I'm sorry! I just didn't want them to _die_," she sobbed. "You can't kill them!"

"I brought them here, I can do as I please. And since you interfered, you will be the one to suffer the consequences!"

Rin cried out, afraid of the voice, but more frightened of the eight black legs that sprouted from the shadows around her, grasping her arms and pulling her under.

* * *

"Rin!" The boys were shouting despite the lack of oxygen.

"Help!" Came the frightened girl's cry.

"What's happening, Rin?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry, I had a snack, the dollhouse fell, I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to die," Rin was sobbing and babbling, incoherent, "He's angry, and I don't want to go!"

"Go where? Rin! You have to release us while you still can! We may not be able to contact you if you leave!"

"No! Don't go, please, I don't want you to leave me here," Rin's bodiless voice echoed around the poisonous room; she was obviously struggling.

"Dammit, we can't help you if we're stuck here, you stupid little kid!" Yusuke yelled up into the ceiling. His head was swimming and making him rather irritable.

There was a short pause before Rin answered, "Fine! You can go!"

A breath of relief.

"But…but only two of you can leave, okay?"

"WHAT!"

"I don't want to be here alone," Rin's voice sobbed, then shrieked in fear. "Please help me, he's mad at me! Don't make me go with him!"

They did not need to ask who "he" was or why he was angry. The boys hurriedly mulled over their decision, pitching in ideas.

"Okay, me and Hiei should go; Hiei can track her down and I can kick some ass!"

"But, Jin can fly, which may be needed given her unknown whereabouts!"

"I have a vast knowledge of poisons and their remedies, which may be needed if we encounter similar attacks as the spiders."

"Oh god, if there are more spiders, I'm staying here!"

"You coward! Our lives and the life of a little girl are on the line."

"Hn!"

"How about Touya? He can freeze any baddy that gets in yer way!"

"Yeah, because that worked with the _spider."_

"It was a _giant spider_, Yusuke, what was I-"

"Ahhhh!" Rin shrieked again and the Yusuke growled in agitation.

"This is getting us no where! Rock paper scissors?"

"What!," was the general outcry.

'I don't know then! Fuck it, we're all staying then!"

"Are you sure that would be wise, Yusuke?"

"Our beef is with this freakin' dollhouse, and I say no one leaves until we have the whole damn thing torn apart and blasted to the ground. You said the demon probably resides here, so from here on out, there's a bounty on that bastard's head! There's no way we'd find the girl in time, but this way we stand a chance at putting an end to all this chaos."

The assembled group nodded in agreement, not wanting to be split up. Their choice proved to be a wise one as Rin shrieked one last time and then her energy disappeared all together.

Silence…

Then Jin asked forlornly, "She isn't…she isn't dead, is she?"

"No," Hiei replied, eyes closed. "She's in the house."

The six men turned in unison towards the door that clicked and slid open, inviting them into the next room. Without saying a word the sextuplet made their way to the fourth room.


End file.
